Christmas Travel

I'm at the airport in Denver right now participating in the Christmas travel conundrums. It has been snowing all day, from light to heavy. After spending an absolutely wonderful Christmas in Monument with Molly and Ben and Ben's family, Marc delivered me back to the airport about 4 this afternoon for what should have been a 5 PM flight. We were already aware that the time was delayed until 6:25, but left at 2:30 anyway as we were unsure of traffic and snow. The drive to the airport took twice as long as usual, and it probably took longer for Marc to get back home. He even told me to call if my flight was canceled and he would come back and get me. And he would!!! But there is not way I would ask him to make that drive again..and in the dark!!

I have had an enjoyable time here at the airport with the other delayed passengers. I have been visiting with a lady who is here to see her mother-in-law, who is 83, off to visit her daughter in Kansas City. I told them I was a long term care nurse and the elderly lady said she hoped she would never have to meet me again!!!

We are watching the snow ploughs on the runways. They seem to think we will actually leave at 6:45 and the plane is now arriving at the gate.....so I guess I will sign off for now.

Christmas in Colorado

It's a beautiful Christmas Day in Colorado. We awoke to gently falling snow....just like the song dreams of. My flight on Sunday was uneventful and after the weather mess in Northwest Missouri on Saturday, I was a little nervous. The weather here was sunny and warm Sunday and Monday and there is a nice shopping area about a mile from the house. I made a trip to Wal-Mary on Sunday afternoon and again on Monday for yarn. Marc, Susan, Ben and Adam went for a hike on Monday morning. Molly and I thought the walk to Wal-Mart was sufficient to meet our need for exercise, especially after they told us about the 75 foot incline back to down that might be ice covered. I don't like going DOWN without ice!! I really didn't want to try it WITH. Susan is working this morning. We will have out Christmas this evening. Tomorrow we are taking the train to the top of Pike's Peak and I head home on Thursday. So far, the weather man is reassuring about that leg of the journey.

Merry Christmas!!

Catching Up

I was complaining to Hillary because she hasn't posted new pictures of Mira and Grandma Betty taken yesterday and I haven't posted ANYTHING since December 3.

It's been an uneventful month travel wise, but an eventful month overall. The first week of December found me in Florida doing a Mock Survey. I had been to Orlando once, long ago, when Hillary's high school band went to the Citrus Bowl. There were way too many people at Disney in December and generally I decided I really wasn't fond of Florida. That impression remains, even though I was in Boca Raton and Delray Beach this time. It is very pretty, but way to many people cluttering up the highways. It is obviously a retirement area. A wheelchair with a 'For Sale' sign was sitting in front of the little diner where we went for breakfast one morning.

I was there with another consultant. We decided we needed to see the ocean since we were there, so one evening we left the facility around 5 so we would have daylight. We were just west of I-95, so very close to the ocean, but I couldn't believe how much trouble we had finding it. All the streets lead to houses, hotels, apartments, condo, etc. lining the coast and you can't see beyond. We finally found a street to cross over to the outer strip of land and by then it was pretty dusky. We peaked between foliage and were able to see the ocean, but never did find a beach. Probably need to try that again when we have more time and more daylight.

Travel was limited last week by the ice storm on Tuesday. I was without electricity for about 12 hours and no cable for 36 but had trouble getting sympathy from the rest of my family who were without for days on end. Ann and Bob finally got electricity back on Saturday. Todd and Missy weren't back in the modern world until Sunday afternoon. A little bad weather didn't stop Hillary and I. The streets were not really slick, just wet, on Tuesday as the temperature never dipped below 32. We went to the mall and finished Christmas shopping.

This week I am back on the road. I hope the weather holds, as I will be in a car much of the week. I drove from Des Moines to Cedar Rapids this morning and the scenery was beautiful. The trees were frosted with snow over the ice and looked like they had been sprayed with the snow we used to spray on the Christmas tree. But the sun has come out and melted it all away until the next time.

A Dare

I was at Chicago O'Hare waiting for my connection, quietly embroidering when the the gentleman two seats over (you know you never set NEXT to anyone you don't know while waiting at an airport) tapped my shoulder and said, "Look at that!" It took me a minute to find the target, but when I did it was a site to behold!!

A gentleman, a large gentleman probably at least 6 feet tall, was walking along wearing an interesting ensemble. He had a white turtle neck with a long plaid skit. Now, I know all about kilts, but this was NOT a kilt. Kilts are usually knee length and pleated. This was long and straight. Hit about mid calf. He also had on white tights with spike heels. I mean the little skinny heels that were at least three inches high, if not four. He was carrying a bag across the shoulder. His hair was cut in a crew cut and he had dangling ear rings that actually hung to his shoulder.

DO YOU HAVE THIS PICTURED?

The gentleman who so kindly alerted me, supposed he was surely fulfilling a bet. If he was, I hope he got lots of money.

On the Road Again

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving break with an additional two free days this week due to scheduling issues. It was great!! Yesterday I headed back out, but only for a day. I'm in Kalamaz00 and it is very cold. The last reading I saw was 24 degrees. This morning I was auditing charts in a day room with windows all around and it was snowing quite prettily. It didn't accumulate, though, and by afternoon the sun was out, even though it stayed quite cold. I'm due here again in January. Wonder what that weather will be like? I believe the Arizona gig was better for the winter months.

Travel has been rather uneventful lately...since the summer rain storms abated and I learned to carry my luggage on. It takes a different mind set and method of packing to carry on. What ever glitches the winter storms will bring at least I will have my stuff.

I'm headed home this evening. My route is through Chicago O'Hare so I hope the connections work. When I stopped to fill the car up before returning it took 2 1/2 gallons of gasoline. Remember, I arrived here last night around 7 PM and drove about 40 total miles (10 of which was because I missed an exit.) Seems like the previous renter did not return the vehicle with a full tank. Interesting what little issues can irritate a person.

Next week I'm headed to Florida.

Learning Lambert Airport in St. Louis

It's been a long week of travel. I started in St. Louis and then went to Milwaukee. I wanted to fly from Kansas City to St. Louis, then on to Milwaukee and back to Kansas City. The price tag was a little high..around $800. If I drove to St. Louis and took a round trip flight from there, it was only around $300. That's what I did. But I was worried about finding the long term parking in St. Louis and how long it would take to get from the nursing home to the airport, so I went early on Monday. I drove to the nursing home, and then went to the airport to check out the route and time. Monday was rainy in St. Louis at 4:30 and I couldn't believe how DARK it was. But I got it figured out. Timing and exits and found the parking lot. I left the facility about 3:45 on Tuesday evening and made it with time to spare at the airport to catch my 5:40 flight to Milwaukee.

I have learned to crochet in airports and on airplanes. I discovered that you could actually take crochet hooks and little scissors through security last winter when I took a crochet class and our instructor said she always crocheted on flights. I just never had tried because it seemed complicated to keep the yarn sorted out and manage to contain the product being crocheted. Anyway, it was the only time it set aside to read. Last week I forgot my book and decided to crochet on the way to Garden City. I worked okay and as I have a lot of crafts scheduled for completion before Christmas, was a very good use of time. I had crochet time at the St. Louis airport. I arrived safely in Milwaukee with several little granny squares competed!!

The problem was finding the hotel. I had been here before and thought I would be able to drive right to the hotel. That was not the case. After driving down wrong streets for a while, I went back to the airport and started over with better results. Why does it get dark so early?

Eulogy

This week-end Hillary and I were headed to Branson and Silver Dollar City, while Brooks was hunting in Northeast Missouri. She picked me up about 9:30 on Saturday morning. I had Maggie packed and ready to go and had even taken a little walk up the block with her while waiting on Hillary. We had just been in the car about 15 minutes when I heard Maggie gagging. Hillary said, "Is she throwing up in my car?" I turned around and tried to see what she was doing. She was in her bed in the backseat next to Mira. She was retching, but not vomiting, only clear saliva stuff was visible on the edge of her bed. I though she would settle down, but she just kept gagging. By this time we were in the Grandview Triangle and the traffic was backed up because of a one lane issue. I told Hillary that as soon as we got through the traffic to find an exit so I could see what was wrong. We pulled off at Belton and as soon as I set her down in the parking lot I knew we were it big trouble. Her stomach was huge and lopsided. She pottied, then just walked around randomly, but didn't seem to be in pain, and never did thrown up.

What to do? Do we go on and see if she gets better? I considered that, but ultimately told Hillary we had better head back to the vet. It was 11 AM on a Saturday morning and the vet closes at noon. I called the one where she usually boarded. Their vet was leaving and we were still 30 minutes away. I called a different one where she also had boarded on occasion and they agreed to wait until we could get there.....and she continued to gag in her bed. The outcome was that her stomach had 'turned'. That is not uncommon in older dogs, but it usually happens in larger breeds. An x-ray confirmed it and the only solution is surgery. Maggie was nearly 16, didn't' see well and hearing was going. Over the past six months her weight had dropped from 12 pounds to 9. It was time to tell her good-bye. Then, Hillary and I took her to King City to my sisters animal cemetary and buried her in her bed.

We didn't make it to Branson, (but drove over 200 miles anyway). I'm just so thankful that it worked out the way it did. She was with me instead of at the kennel or with the wonderful lady who had been dog sitting for her. Having Hillary with me was a blessing and we had plenty of time to take care of her the right way. She was a wonderful little dog. I think about the years we lived on Gene Field and she spent all day chasing squirrels in the back yard. She ran from tree to tree to the point that she wore little trails in the grass. I remember her walking Randy on Ashland. She was the poster child for the good effects of exercise. She never got fat, as many dachshunds do, and until the last few months, still liked to go for walks, even in only a couple of blocks.

So farewell, Maggie. You were one of a kind.

Voyeur

Monday I headed to the airport to rent a car. In order to rent a car from National, I have to park in economy parking, ride the shuttle to the terminal and take the rent-a-car shuttle to the car rental place. So..I am sitting in the little hut at A-4 awaiting the shuttle....it was cold and windy. From my seat I could see directly into the hut at A-3 and a man hustled up to it with his roller bag in quite a hurry. He stood there a few minutes, they sprinted back to from whence he came, but left his suitcase sitting at the hut. A few minutes later he reappeared, stood there a few minutes, then started walking toward my hut, through the rows of cars. About two rows in, he stopped between two cars. I was quite intriqued at this point, trying to figure out what he was upt to. He look into the cars and all around and I decided he was a felon, either looking for a car to steal, or something to steal from inside one of the parked cars. Then he stopped and stood up and just stood there. . . . ...... and I realized he was empyting his bladder. After a few moments, he again moved his arms (zipping I presume) and sauntered back to his awaiting bag at the shuttle hut. I watched him pee!!!

Then I watched him catch the shuttle at A-3. A-4 was next and I could hardly wait to see him up close. What a let down. I had him pictured as a hot young stud. He was an elderly fellow...even older than me. He must have BPH. I smiled at him. I wonder if he realized I watched.

Good Bye, South Dakota

I made what is probably my last routine trip to South Dakota last week. It was a smooth week, every flight left on time and every connection was made without a problem. I am a little sad that I won't be going there routinely as I really like the area. I think if I had to relocate, I would choose that part of the country. It's very pretty and not too populated. I actually even like the touristy part of the area. That's probably a carry over from living in Kimberling City.

I stayed in Deadwood this trip because the Hampton Inn there has the best beds and it was off season for tourists, so the room rate was cheap! Two days of the trip were in Spearfish. The first day at noon, I visited the 'historic fish hatchery'. It was a beautiful fall day with the leaves turning every possible color. The only fish hatchery I am familiar with is the one at Tablerock Lake. This was a OLD fish hatchery and really pretty. It had creeks and old rustic buildings and a big pond around an old building. You could go downstairs and look through glass to see all the great big trout swimming around. I didn't do that because some school children were there for the afternoon and they had squatting rights to the window. The hatchery runs were empty...not a baby trout in sight. I guess the end of October is not the time to be rasising baby trout. The trivia for the day.....Trout are not native to South Dakota. Even though the streams and rivers are the right temperature and the evnironment good, trout were not found there until people began to stock them into the rivers.

The second day in Spearfish I presented an inservice at 6:30 AM and when I was done with that went to eat breakfast. The Director of Nursing recommended a cute little tea house called Two Pines. It was picturesque and had wonderful tea. I read the paper while I ate my scone and discovered the Passion Play of South Dakota is on the real estate market. The editorial I read was hoping that whomever bought it would continue to use it as an open door theatre rather that turning it in to condos. Well, I didn't realize that Spearfish was the home of the South Dakota Passion Play. I always knew the first Passion Play was in South Dakota, but since I started going there last spring, never gave it a thought. I have been to the Passion Play in Eureka Springs and that is a DESTINATION. I hadn't seen one billboard or sign anywhere about the Passioon Play in Spearfish. I asked the staff at the nursing home and they told me how to get there, so that was where I headed at noon. It is right there on one edge of the town and rather sad. I turned down the street where I finally found a sign with an arrow pointing the way and figured I had at least a couple of mile drive, but no..it's right there and rather small. There is just one building (in need of paint) and a large privacy fence so I couldn't see inside. Two cars were in the parking lot and that was it!! According to the staff, the play was presented this summer, but it isn't what it was at one time. The family who started it have all aged and/or died and the current generation has moved away and isn't interested in continuing the tradition. According to the article in the paper, only the property is for sale and not the play. I don't understand what that means, but overall..I think it means the Passion Play of South Dakota is done. How sad.

More Bumps

We arrived safely at Cousin Marians with no problems. The flight was on time, the car was reserved, and Marian had purchased Diet Coke before we arrived.

The second bump occurred when sister Ann called me Friday evening with the news that Mom had fallen and broken her other hip. (The first one was broken in May.) I told Hillary I felt guilty because once again, Ann was having to deal with the crisis while I was across the country somewhere. (In May I was in Florida.) Hillary said that was how she was going to be. She was going to have to take care of my issues by herself and her sister wouldn't even feel guilty.

Third bump: Hillary started vomiting at Universal Studios on Sunday afternoon and continued to vomit at intervals until we boarded the plane on Monday morning. Fortunately, the vomiting aspect of her illness was over at that point and she was spared the experience of vomiting in an airplane bathroom.

Once on the ground in Kansas City, I picked up the rental car and went to St. Joe to check on Mom. I made a mad dash back to Gladstone early in the evening to change suitcases and returned to the hospital to spend the night with Mom in order to qwell some of my guilt for being an absent daughter. I left St. Joe for Muskogee, Oklahoma around 7 AM, Tuesday morning. I was hungry, but couldn't think of anything that didn't cause my stomach to churn, so settled for a bottle of milk. Diet Coke didn't even sound good. The trip to Oklahoma was pretty miserable and I arrived at the facility around noon to begin a four day Mock Survey. By the time I checked into the hotel at 7 PM I thought I was going to collapse. I chalked up my nausea and lethargy to lack of sleep and overall tiredness, but by Friday, when I still couldn't drink Diet Coke, realized I had a milder version of whatever made Hillary sick at Universal. Subsequently, we found out Marian also developed a GI malady.

By the time I arrived back at the hospital on Friday evening, Mother had regained her cognitive function and was on the road to recovery. I spent Friday night at the hospital and on Saturday she moved to a Skilled Bed at Carriage Square. She is recovering quite nicely and I beileve will be back in her apartment in a week or two.

I headed to South Dakota on Monday. The plane was 1 1/2 hours late leaving Kansas City, so I had visions of spending some more time with Marc and Susan, but the connection went smoothly and I arrived in Deadwood in time to watch Marie Osmond faint on Dancing with the Stars. At 8:30 I turned out the light and slept until 6:30 the next morning. I can now drink Diet Coke and eat anything I want.

Life is good.

Bumps in the Road

The past couple of weeks have been a little crazy. Hillary, Brooks, Mira and I went to Los Angeles to see Cousin Marian and do a little site seeing. Mira had a wonderful time that I won't describe here. Hillary has it all documented on Mira's blog complete with pictures.

The First Bump: To begin with, I developed a screaming sore throat on the Tuesday before we were to leave on Thursday. I decided to ignore it so it would go away, but it just kept getting worse. When I started drooling because I couldn't swallow and developed a fever of 102 on Wednesday evening I started to panic. I found an Urgent Care place in Liberty which did not take my insurance, but by then I didn't care. I just wanted antibiotics so I could leave on Thursday morning. The doc asked me to rate my pain. I just hate that pain scale, but everyone seems to have to put a number in a blank. I told him it was an 8 or 9. At that point I think he thought I was just whining. Then he looked at my throat and said, "Oh my gosh!." He gave me Augumentin and viscous xylocaine. I wanted Vicodin, but thought the xylocaine would handle it, so I didn't ask. Well, it didn't. I took 800 mg Ibuprofen and gargled constantly, but it just HURT. After 24 hours of antibiotics, I could finally swallow without tears in my eyes and no longer had a fever. The good part is that no one wanted to have a drink of my drink, or a bite of my bites!!

More bumps later, I need to board the flight to Rapid City.

Topiary Garden

My visit to Columbus, Ohio last week provided me with the time to visit the Topiary Garden I missed the last time because I went to see the Bodies Exhibit. It is in downtown Columbus on the grounds of the School for Deaf. It was a very pretty park. The Topiary Garden is a replication of a famous painting--Sunday Afternoon on thee Isle of la Grande Jatte by Georgew Suerat. There is a bronze relief of the painting at the front of the park and when you stand there it is just amazing that the Topiary figures are such perfect replicas. I did learn something about this topiary art. I had just figured the shrubs were cut to shape by very talented shrub trimmers....kinda like Edward Scissorhands. Actually the shapes are created by a metal frame over the shrub and as the shrub grows it is trimmed to follow the metal shape. Some of the larger ones at the Topiary Garden haven't grown completely into their frame.

As I walked into the garden I saw a man standing by a tree looking at something intently. I thought there was something moving on the tree trunk and initially thought it was a squirrel or some such animal. Then I had the thought that a snake was in the tree, but never did really see one. I went on to the Topiary Garden. When I was leaving, I again walked down the path by the same fellow and by then, he had this huge snake drapped around his neck. It hung to his waist on one side and then bridged to the branch in the tree on the other side. I guess just never thought that while some people take their dogs to the park, others take their snakes. As I walked on toward the exit, there was an older gentleman sitting on a park bench and I said, "Keep an eye out for that pet snake over there." He said, "Snake? There's a snake" And jumped up from the bench heading for the exit. "I'm terrified of snakes, Thank you so much, A snake? ?" And he kept muttering as he escaped. I had no idea I was going to ruin his visit to the park!!

Great Lakes Aviation

I started this week in Garden City. Options for air travel to Garden City, Kansas are a bit limited, becoming more so October 1. Prior to Monday morning, US Airways served Garden City from Kansas City and Great Lakes served Garden City from Denver. As of Monday, US Airways discontinued the service and Great Lakes assumed the coverage and changed the schedule. The only departing flight is at 6:55 AM. I was up at 4:30, left the house at 5:30 and, after parking and shuttling to the terminal arrived to check in a little before 6. The problem was finding out WHERE to check in. My itinerary said Terminal A, so that is where I went. I started with United, as that was the airline that I was to connect with in Denver on Tuesday evening. The first screen I checked had no flights to Garden City. The TSA guy suggested I look at the US Airways screens and I found a bottom section for Great Lakes which had the flight. I assumed (as had two other people) that I should therefore check in at that counter. Not so. They said I would have to check in with Great Lakes people, however, they had not yet arrived at the counter. There was one space between United and US Airways with no people present. About 10 after 6, three people appeared and placed a cardboard sign on the counter that said, "Great Lakes Aviation". I was finally checked in and was provided a hand written boarding pass. Then I was told the plane was going to be 55 minutes late.

When I went through security I was chosen for 'extra' screening. I'm sure the handwritten boarding pass had something to do with that!

We actually were only about 30 minutes late leaving and the rest of the flight went smoothly, but the car was another thing. Garden City only has two car rental options, Hertz and Enterprise. My reservation was with Enterprise. I got off the plane and headed to the bathroom, then toward the rental counter. This man stopped me with my name...'Sarah?' and said he would pull the car around for me. He had my name written on a piece of paper, so I guessed he was legit. He told me that he would take me to the office in town for the paper work. I got in the car, feeling a little uncomfortable, but didn't know what else to do. (The last time I rented there a person was at the counter and I got the car then). I rode the 11 miles into Garden City in uncomfortable silence after my first two efforts at small talk bombed. (I kept reminding myself that he had my name and had gotten the car from a slot with an Enterprise sign in front of it.) He actually DID take me to the office and I filled out paper work and got the car.

On Tuesday evening, when I returned the car I was to take it to the airport and drop the keys in a drop box. I did as told, no one was available at the counter. I then found a seat to wait for the flight. At Garden City Airport, they don't open the screening area until about 10 minutes before the airplane arrives. I'm sitting there watching Entertainment News about Britney loosing her children to Kevin, when, for some reason I think to check for my cell phone and realize I have left it in the cup holder in the car. The keys are in the locked drop box and no Enterprise people are available to unlock the lock box. I asked the people at the check in counter if they can contact the Enterprise people. The plane is not scheduled for 30 minutes and it's only 15 minutes from town to the airport. They called, but the Enterprise man was in some other Kansas town and said he would try to find someone to come and unlock the box. It was a combination lock. I really wanted them to just ask for the combination, but they felt that was intrusive. Then I had an 'Ah Ha' moment and thought, "Maybe I didn't lock the car." I headed back to the car and actually stood in the parking lot saying, "Please God, let the car be unlocked" before I even touched the door. God was good, the car was unlocked and the phone was right where I though it would be. I think I will ask the travel people to book me with Hertz the next time I go to Garden City.

Mall of America

As you know, the route to the nursing home was complicated by the fact that the 35W bridge is the one that collapsed and that is the route from the nursing home to the airport and thus to the Mall of America. I talked with the facility staff about alternate routes to the Mall and the administrator printed me a map from MapQuest that had a route around the bridge site. It wasn't very clear and the map was too small to understand, but I had my Microsoft Map of the area and figured I could use the two in tandem to get where I wanted to go.

No such luck.

The biggest problem is that Minneapolis has very poor sinage. ( I think I said that before.) I took 35W south and exited at the right spot, but from there could not find the names of the streets that were on the map and list of directions from MapQuest. At that point, I was smack dab in the middle of the University of Minnesota campus with lots of traffic, both motorized and pedestrian. I just kept driving and trying to stay out of the way, thinking I would ultimately find a sign with the right name. I finally took a side street and pulled into a parking lot. I got my computer out and booted it up so I could get to my Microsoft Mapping software and figure out where I was and where I needed to go. Of course, I was much further away from 35W than I was supposed to be and needed to retrace my route. I then found my way across an alternate bridge, which ran alongside the collapsed 35W bridge. They have blocked off a walk way across this alternate bridge which was full of people walking and looking at the site. I would have liked to have had the time to park and walk across, but traffic and frustration kept me in the car and on task to find the Mall of America.

Once across the bridge the challenge was to find my way back and connect back with 35W. Again, I went too far, but this time had the map up on my laptop in the passenger street and was able to figure out where I went wrong while sitting at red stoplights. Once back to 35W it was pretty easy to navigate to the correct exits toward the Mall.

Now you would think that if your claim to fame was the Mall of America, you would have signs on the highway advertising the exit. Not in Minnesota. I was motoring along reading signs when I realized I had just passed Nordstroms. I took the next exit and again retraced the route.

The Mall of America is great!! I spent about three hours wandering around there and didn't get through 1/2 of it. Rascal Flats was performing live and there were thousands of people on every level and lining the stairs. (Another reason I really need that camera.) I ate at the Rainforest Cafe. I have never been to the one in Kansas City. I sat next to a great big aquarium and watched this really ugly fish that reminded me of a dill pickle spear magnified about 100 times.

My trip back to the hotel was uneventful. I made it around the bridge site with no problems at all. The best thing about the Mall trip is that I figured out all the turns and lane issues for my trip to the airport this afternoon.

So here I am, sitting at the gate, just hoping that this plane leaves on time and has enought fuel to fly straight to Kansas City.

Minneapolis

The plane was supposed to leave Kansas City at 4:30. Unfortunately, it was storming in Minneapolis and they wouldn't let us take off until 5:15. That't not too bad. People were unhappy, but no big crises were apparent from the conversation I eavesdropped on.

We are in the air, flying to Minneapolis when the pilot tells us the storms hit sooner than they expected and we have been instructed to take a different route and hold as the traffic is backed up. However, holding may be a problem, as we do not have enough fuel to hold very long, and may have to divert to Souix City for fuel. Okay, now people are getting irritated. We sat in Kansas City for almost an hour. Why didn't they fuel the plane then? It's only a 1 1/2 hour flight and I feel certain the tanks hold adequate fuel for a flight of that length with plenty to spare.

So we landed in Souix City and waited about 45 minutes on the tarmack for clearance to again try to reach Minneapolis. We finally arrived a little after 8, which was only two hours late and as I was only going to Minneapolis, I was not concerned. There were many others who had expected to connect for somewhere else who WERE concerned. I was remembering when that connecting flight issue complicated my life and was so glad this was not one of those times.

I picked up my car, checked my Micro-soft map to be sure I knew which highways to take and headed to the hotel. My route was to take 35W North to an area called Rosedale. Finding 35W was a little tricky as the sinage isn't as clear as I would have liked. I was surprised when the highway I was on hit 35W before I ever saw the highway I thought was supposed to take me there. So far, so good. Until I hit downtown Minneapolis and 35W was closed. The detour signs weren't clear and I just guessed, ending up on surface streets in downtown Minneapolis. Now I'm a little rattled, it's dark and I have no idea how to get back to 35W past the closure. I'm headed north on what looks like a through street when I realized I was on a bridge. Now I understood. 35W was the bridge that collapsed. (I'll check that out tomorrow when it's daylight.)

The traffic finally cleared out to the point that I felt safe pulling over and looking at my map for options. It looked like I could go North until I found a through street going West and end up at the hotel..which actually worked with no problems. But the hotel looked closed. When I pulled into the parking lot the entrance had no lights and was covered with scaffolding. There were cars in the parking lot and lights on in the windows, so I was pretty sure there had to be another entrance. I found a door proped open with a board and went in. I actually had a reservation and finally made it to a very nice room. Just about three hours later than I had hoped and I missed 'Dancing with the Stars'. Thank goodness for DVR!!

Garden City

I really needed that camera this week. The airplane upon which I flew to Garden City was an antique. I had noticed this small vintage white prop job as I sat at the gate and it crossed my mind that it could be my plane. I consoled myself with the observation that it was closer to gate 3 than gate 2 and my gate was 2. As we passed through the door, the attendant said, 'The plane on the left'.....the WHITE plane. It was the small eighteen seater type with one row of seats on each side of the aisle and no overhead storage. Seven brave souls boarded that plane. The co-pilot told us the cross winds were pretty strong and we might not be able to land in Dodge City, but just go straight to Garden City. (That was fine with me!! )

During the boarding process and the seat belt/safey notification, the gentleman in front and across the aisle from me continued to loudly talk on his cell phone in his native middle eastern language. The co-pilot kept telling him to turn off the cell phone and he just kept talking away. I must admit, listening to one side of a middle eastern conversation on a less than pristeen airplane is a big disconserting. The co-pilot finally asked him if he wanted to get off the airplane and he disconnected his conversation. Hillary said I should have reminded myself that who would want to sabotage an airplane with seven people in the middle of Kansas. She has a point.

We landed safely in Dodge City, much to my disappointment. Now I had to take off and land once more to reach my destination. The very windy day was tossing the plane around as if it were a leaf in the wind, but we had talented pilots and arrived safely.

The next adventure in Garden City was the storm that hit around 5 in the evening. I could hear the thunder and pounding rain around 5, but by the time I left a little after 6, it had calmed down to a steady downpour. This was my first time driving around Garden City and I didn't know the streets. The staff told me the route to the hotel and I headed out. The water was running across the street and at the first major intersection the water was so deep that with the wind, there were white caps in the middle of the intersection. I could hear it sloshing under the car and thought, "This is the stuff they tell you NEVER to drive in". I survived the plane only to be drowned in an intersection in Garden City. It is just so flat here that there is no place for the water to run off to. Ann said I should consider increasing my life insurance.

This evening I drove to Holcomb, KS. The place where the Clutter murders from 'In Cold Blood' took place. It's just a sleepy little country town. I don't know what I expected. I didn't think there would be any signs saying...'Clutter house this way>>>>'. Skidmore, MO certainly doesn't have any signs pointing out the spot where Ken Rex McElroy was done in. It did make me think about Conception, MO where a family was murdered in the early 70's, much like the Clutters, except I think the murderer was a neighbor boy who had a crush on one of the girls.

Now, if I can just survive the plane trip back to Kansas City tomorrow. At least it is non-stop.

The Beginning

Starting is the hard part. You start at the beginning, but how do you decide the point at which the beginning began.

The beginning of this story started about three months ago, when I started the job that has me on the road (or in the air) at least three days a week. I have had several adventures already including three canceled flights, several delayed flights and a week with no luggage. The 'no luggage' ended up being a great learning experience. I survived with very little STUFF that week, so why drag it around the rest of the time. I take only essentials that I will actually use now. Shoes are always the hardest part. They take up the most space and are the heaviest, so I wear my athletic shoes and choose one pair of shoes around which to select the clothing for that week. Traveling by car is better. Then I can load up the trunk with what ever I want.

I decided that I would try to take in a little of the interesting sites at the places I visit. Traveling for work is not sight seeing, it is work...the commute is just a little longer. By the end of the day I usually just want to eat and watch TV in a mindless fog. Reruns of Friends and Law and Order are the best, as I have seen them all and don't have to think. But that approach wastes the oppportunity to see things, so I have made a vow to check things out whenever I have an evening that I am not on the road to the next place. I visited Mount Rushmore (and want to go back in the evening to see the light show). In Columbus, OH I went to the exhibit of The Bodies--actual cadavers discected to show the inner workings of the body. (Quite fasciniating, but every now and then it would hit me that these were PEOPLE) In Canton, Ohio I checked out the Football Hall of Fame (Of course). And my last trip to South Dakota found me driving into Wyoming to see Devil's Tower.

So now I have started this blog to keep track of my adventures and to enable you the share them with me. As soon as I get a digital camera, I will add pictures. Aren't you all excited?